Search Results

Several studies in the field of hedonics using subjective responses to gauge the nature and influence of odors have attempted to explain the complex psychological and chemical processes. Work on the effect of odors in alleviating driver fatigue is limited. The potential to improve road safety through non-pharmacological means such as stimulating odors is the impetus behind this paper. This is especially relevant in developing countries today with burgeoning economies such as India. Longer road trips by commercial transport vehicles with increasingly fatigued drivers and risk of accidents are being fuelled by distant producer - consumer connections. This work describes a two stage comparative study on the effects of different odors typically obtainable in India. The stages involve administration of odorants orthonsally and retronasally after the onset of circadian fatigue in test subjects. This is followed by a small cognitive exercise to evaluate hand-eye coordination.

Melatonin, otherwise popularly known as the “sleep hormone” is known to govern the human circadian rhythms. Current studies indicate that the generation of melatonin is impacted by the ambient light. The natural sleep inducing behavior during night and in darkness, is also due to the same phenomenon. Studies have shown that light of particular wavelengths in the visible spectrum have a higher effect on the amount of melatonin secreted by the human body. Blue light in the wavelengths of around 468 nm is known to inhibit the melatonin secretion, the most. This branch of science known as photobiology is in its nascent stage and is a matter of research pursued by neurologists, endocrinologists and other lighting researchers. Photobiology has several potential applications in the automotive industry, the principal one being driver drowsiness prevention.

The current trend of going “green” in emerging automotive markets is, by the conversion of internal combustion engine based vehicle platforms into electrified vehicle platforms. While this method of electrification reduces the product development life cycle drastically due to the availability of a readymade platform, there are certain areas that are always overlooked. While focus is given on obvious and necessary elements like power train & battery packaging, weight reduction, high voltage safety, thermal management etc., electro-magnetic compatibility is neglected in the conversion process. This paper shall describe, in detail and in particular, the effect of electrical transients created by legacy elements, already existing in the baseline platform. This is an outcome of electro-magnetic compatibility challenges faced during the conversion of an internal combustion engine powered vehicle into an electric vehicle.